Primer Safety

How dangerous is to store one or more cases of 5000 primers in a house?

Do many people store multiple cases and if so what  processions are usually taken?

Send them to me i will store them. LOL

Never had a problem.

As I have 4 cases sitting on a shelf above my loading table, I will tell you I'm not too concerned.

Here is probably more information about primers than you wanted, but I think it is worth the time to read: https://saami.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Info-Doc-Primers.pdf

james r chapman wrote:Never had a problem.

Sorry Jim, but I cringe every time I hear something like this... I've never had an accident driving drunk so it must me ok. I've never had a fire from smoking in bed so it must be ok. And a turkey thinks the farmer is a nice man who brings food everyday... until that one day.

Keep primers in the manufacturers' packaging. Don't store them in pickup tubes. If you have a lot make 2 wood storage boxes, one for primers and one for powder.

The question was how dangerous to store in a house.
I’ve never had a problem in over 50 years.

Normal safety warnings followed .

Don't catch them on fire or hit with a sledgehammer and you'll be good. Store them cool and dry to make them last.

Original packaging is designed for safe handling. I've never set any on fire or know anyone that had a house fire where bulk primers were stored. I have about 12,000 primers stored in my shed, in original packaging, and never had any worries. I started buying a little extra components and stocked up a bit, and have had 10-12K hanging around my shop for approx. 25 years...

One very good thing about lead styphnate primers is that they don't go unstable with age. I don't even know if they will dud out, like the old chlorate primers. Given enough time, they have too, right? 

Primer packaging has evolved over the years, the current big primer trays are the safest to date, primers are all separated from each other. And, as long as the primers are in their original containers, they are in the safest packaging arrangement possible.

Primers are coated with a compound, probably shellac, for water proofing. There should be zero primer dust around, but I have read that primers taken out of their packaging and poured into a glass jar are dangerous because of loose primer cake dust. I don't know how that could be. It might be that there were sensitive primers in the jar and incidental contact with something hard set them off. 

Primers should not make contact with anything hard. No bumps, smashes, etc.  Primer containers not in the original sheaves ought to have crush space to dissipate impact energy. Factory packaging is probably designed to absorb some impact energy and prevent energy  transmission to the primer. By the way, sensitive primers are real. Loose ammunition in evidence bags have gone off in court when the primers bumped something.

I don't know how hot it has to be to ignite a primer, but probably hundreds of degrees. As long as you don't store them in the fireplace, or on top of a stove burner, or have the house burn down, primers won't go off due to heat.

So, my advice, keep the primers in original packaging, don't get them wet, don't get them hot.

As valuable as primers have become, I think I'll take the guns out of my safe and put my primers in there.